Biotech 2007 - Record Year

Biotechnology


May 2008 - Ernst & Young's 2007 annual financial report on biotech industry cited:

1) financing from all sources topped $21.3 billion for U.S. biotech companies; $5.5 billion contributed by venture capital firms beat record set in 2000 (Human Genome Project);

2) of 386 publicly traded U.S. biotechnology companies, 49% have more than two years of cash on hand (27% of those) have more than five years of cash;

3) total potential value of mergers, acquisitions drug development alliances was nearly $60 billion in United States, surpassed levels in all prior years;

4) number of approvals for new drugs dropped to lowest level in two decades (FDA faced resource constraints, lawmakers pressed for more-stringent safety reviews);

5) market capitalization of San Francisco Bay Area's 77 public companies was $148.6 billion (40% of total market value of U.S. biotech companies) on revenue of $22.1 billion (34% of U.S. total for the sector); Boston area's 62 public companies had market capitalization of $65.1 billion (17.6% of U.S. biotech market capitalization).